Cortland's Centrone Repeats as Regional Champion to Claim NCAA Berth
Cortland Sports Information Department
ITHACA, NY – Cortland's Angelo Centrone (Mahopac) repeated as the 149-pound weight class champion to secure a berth into the NCAA Division III Championships during the second day of competition at the NCAA Division III Region 2 Wrestling Championships on Saturday. The regional was hosted by Ithaca College.
Centrone, ranked sixth nationally at 149 pounds, will make his second straight appearance at the national championship meet, which will be held March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The top three finishers in each weight class at the regional punched their tickets to nationals.
After going 3-0 on Friday to reach the semifinals, Centrone opened Saturday with a 10-4 decision over Ryan Santiago of Wilkes. He had one takedown in each period, and the only points that Santiago earned were from escapes. Centrone then secured the regional title with a 7-2 victory in the finals over Cole Handlovic of Stevens, who entered the weekend ranked fourth nationally in the weight class.
Three Red Dragons – Colton Havens (Canisteo/Canisteo-Greenwood), Christian Lievano (East Setauket/Ward Melville), and Rocco Futia (Wallkill) – placed fifth in their respective weight classes.
Havens started the day in the semifinals, but dropped a 4-1 decision to Paul Lichter of St. John Fisher. In the consolation bracket, Havens also lost by decision, 6-3 to Josh Warland of RIT. He rebounded with a 7-3 decision over Tyler Rossini of Brockport in the fifth-place match, the second time Havens defeated Rossini in the tournament.
Lievano went 2-1 on the day to place fifth at 125 pounds. The senior started the day with a pin in 2:41 over Charles Piccione of Stevens in the consolation bracket, before falling to New Jersey City's Dominic Terracciano by pin in the third period. In the fifth-place match, Lievano earned a 7-1 decision over Gus Smith of Wilkes.
Rocco Futia also placed fifth at 133 pounds with a 2-1 record on the day. He had three takedowns in the first period during a 16-5 major decision over Derek Bernardino of St. John Fisher to open the day. In his second match, Futia was defeated 8-5, by Robert Gardner of Lycoming in sudden-victory overtime. Futia won by forfeit over Amarfio Reynolds of Penn State Behrend in the fifth-place match.
Cortland finished in 12th place out of 20 schools in the final team standings with 68.5 team points. Stevens was the regional team champion with 147.5 points, followed by Ithaca (144 points) and Lycoming (108 points).
FINAL TEAM SCORES:
1) Stevens – 147.5
2) Ithaca - 144
3) Lycoming - 108
4) RIT - 98
5) Oneonta - 96
6) Centenary – 86.5
7) St. John Fisher – 85.5
8) Penn State Behrend - 81
9) Wilkes – 79.5
10) Brockport - 78
11) Penn College - 76
12) Cortland – 68.5
13) New Jersey City - 56.5
14) Alfred State – 47.5
15) Oswego - 33
16) Elmira - 12
17) Hunter - 10
18) Pitt-Bradford - 8.5
19) Keystone - 7
29) Kean - 3
CORTLAND RESULTS (entire tournament)
125 pounds
Christian Lievano (4-2) (Fifth place)
tech. fall vs. Muhamadu Konteh (Hunter), 15-0 (5:30)
lost to Evan Whiteside (Penn State Behrend), 16-9
pinned Cade Stern (Pitt Bradford), 1:47
pinned Charles Piccione (Stevens), 2:41
lost to Dominic Terracciano (New Jersey City), Pin, 5:35
Fifth place: dec. vs. Gus Smith (Wilkes), 7-1
133 pounds
Rocco Futia (4-2) (Fifth place)
tech. fall vs. Kolton Kelley (Brockport), 17-2 (7:00)
lost to Jay McDonnell (Ithaca), 9-6
major dec. vs. Vincent Principe (Stevens)
major dec. vs. Derek Bernardino (St. John Fisher), 16-5
lost to Robert Gardner (Lycoming), 8-5 (SV-1)
won by forfeit vs. Amarfio Reynolds (Penn State Behrend)
141 pounds
Culley Bellino (0-2)
lost to Joseph Innamorato (Centenary), Pin, 3:51
lost to Major Lewis (Lycoming), 15-12 (SV-1)
149 pounds
Angelo Centrone (5-0) (First place)
pinned Mason Johnson (Centenary), 1:51
tech. fall Kyle Meyer (Alfred State), 19-4 (4:11)
major dec. vs. Rudy Brown (Penn State Behrend), 15-6
Semis: dec. vs. Ryan Santiago (Wilkes), 9-4
Finals: dec. vs. Cole Handlovic (Stevens), 7-2
157 pounds
Colton Havens (3-2) (Fifth place)
tech. fall Andy Beras (New Jersey City), 17-2 (3:14)
dec. vs. Tyler Rossini (Brockport), 4-1 (SV-1)
Semis: lost to Paul Lichter (St. John Fisher), 4-1
lost to Josh Warland (RIT), 6-3
Fifth place: dec. vs. Tyler Rossini (Brockport), 7-3
165 pounds
Jack Pickersgill
lost to Tyler Roe (Stevens), tech. fall, 17-0 (4:24)
lost to Mason Grodzki (RIT), 11-5
174 pounds
Luke Chernaski
lost to Gavin McLaughlin (Brockport), 12-5
lost to Anthony Salvini (Penn State Behrend), Pin, 3:35
184 pounds
Robby Cunningham
lost to Xavier Pommells (Ithaca), 11-1
pinned Gavin Gomes (Penn College), 4:41
lost to Lucas Miller (Wilkes), 3-2
197 pounds
Nicholas Rose
lost to Angelo Piazza (Centenary), 14-10
lost to Simon Lingle (Brockport), 2-1
285 pounds
Chris Ayala
lost to Kenny Jackson (Oneonta), Pin, 1:15
lost to John Robyck (Elmira), 14-4
